Gunshots erupt as Microsoft and Sony rekindle the Call Of Duty equivalence debate
Microsoft and Sony have been arguing for months over Microsoft’s proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard and the problem call of duty exclusive, and they’re still unfinished. in one series of tweets announced last Friday, Microsoft communications director Frank X. Shaw said Sony is “reporting to people in Brussels that Microsoft is unwilling to offer them the same price as Call of Duty if we do I acquired Activision,” but added that “Nothing could be more untrue.” I would have thought that a legitimate venue would be a more appropriate place to express these grievances, but I suppose this is the case. This will help get the job done faster.
“We’ve made it clear that we’ve offered Sony a 10-year contract to give them parity,” Shaw said. next tweet. “We have also said that we are happy to enforce this through contract, legal agreement or other means.”
The 10-year deal could be an attempt to appease regulators, who see CoD exclusivity as a potential problem for Microsoft’s deal. Nintendo signed another 10-year deal, though I doubt that’s on par because you know, CoD doesn’t exist on Nintendo systems yet. Valve’s Gabe Newell also refuses to sign, but that’s because he doesn’t believe in “requiring any counterparty to have an agreement that binds them”.
I heard Sony is telling people in Brussels that Microsoft is not willing to offer them the same price as Call of Duty if we buy Activision.
Nothing could be better than the truth.
1/4
— Frank X. Shaw (@fxshaw) January 28, 2023
Shaw continue to say that “Sony is the console market leader, and our exclusion of PlayStation gamers from the Call of Duty ecosystem would defy business logic,” points to Minecraft as an example. Then again, while Minecraft and its by-products have remained cross-platform since Microsoft acquired developer Mojang in 2014, sequels to other studio-acquired games like Hellblade and The Outer Worlds are currently only available on Xbox and PC.
The exclusivity arguments certainly won’t affect PC players, as MS is great with concurrent PC releases. However, these discussions could be the difference between approving or rejecting Microsoft’s acquisition of ActiBlizzard. The US Federal Trade Commission has moved to block dealand theirs deductive refers to the Xbox exclusive status of Redfall and Starfield. As for the “people in Brussels” mentioned in Shaw’s Twitter thread, it could be that the EU antitrust body has an April 12 deadline on whether it will approve the $69 billion takeover. la by Microsoft or not and now it’s like a thumbs down.
Microsoft had hoped to complete its takeover of ActiBlizzard by the end of the fiscal year in June, but the FTC hearings are set for August. there is a possibility of delay buying. One way or another, we will know the results by the end of the year.